Favorite Maiden Guitarist (2010 Edition, voting closed)

Who is your favorite Iron Maiden guitarist?

  • Dave Murray

    Votes: 47 32.2%

  • Adrian Smith

    Votes: 82 56.2%

  • Janick Gers

    Votes: 17 11.6%
  • Total voters
    146
  • Poll closed .
SinisterMinisterX

SinisterMinisterX

Illuminatus
Staff member
It's time for the 2010 reboot of another standard Maidenfans poll: your favorite guitarist.

As usual, please share who you're voting for and why.
And don't even ask for a Dennis Stratton option. If that's who you like best, get off our site and go to MFU. :D


For me: H. Obviously. And this isn't even about the Church.

H is the best writer. Now I like Dave's writing and really like Janick's, but H has proven he's the master.

H is one of the two best soloists. Dave is a great soloist, and I'd put him and H equal. Janick is ... well, Janick. He's got his thing, and sometimes it works.

So H gets 1.5 out of 2. H gets my vote.
The previous guitarist poll began on Jan 10, 2005 and ran until today. The results, after more than five and a half years:

Dave Murray: 71 votes (39%)
Adrian Smith: 91 votes (50%)
Janick Gers: 20 votes (11%)
 
Lol. 4 answers and...

SinisterMinisterX said:
As usual, please share who you're voting for and why.
Click to expand...

...no one did this. I mean, I don't mind that much, but this is hard to ignore.  :)

(I'm still doubting about my own choice)
 
Adrian for sure!

He is the best songwriter of the 3, very good technique and probably the most dynamic guitar player.

One one of the main thins I love in him it's his rhythm playing, his sound is huge, imo he's the best in that chapter.
Regarding his solos he's unique, he manages to make them an extension of the own song, I mean his solos seem that are always connected to the song and not a bunch of notes being randomly thrown. He is very melodic, his solos have always a beginning and with H you know the solo will always get somewhere, that's I love in him the most!

Dave is amazing of course but not so influent on songwriting. However his legato is pretty much amazing, his is so smooth and his tone...well beautiful!
In my opinion he was born to be mostly a lead guitar player, but since he is in Maiden he needs to share that duty and may not always be so noted.
His best solos are Maiden's best solos imo, but them are getting slower and not so inspired I believe.

Janick as someone said before...is Janick, the one ond only, for the good and the bad.
I love his songs but his playing can become a mess, mainly in his solos. He has some noticeables exceptions tho: Blood Brothers and The Legacy solos are top-notch!

Despite being all great, I prefer Adrian's playing!
 
Onun said:
Adrian for sure!

He is the best songwriter of the 3, very good technique and probably the most dynamic guitar player.

One one of the main thins I love in him it's his rhythm playing, his sound is huge, imo he's the best in that chapter.
Regarding his solos he's unique, he manages to make them an extension of the own song, I mean his solos seem that are always connected to the song and not a bunch of notes being randomly thrown. He is very melodic, his solos have always a beginning and with H you know the solo will always get somewhere, that's I love in him the most!
Click to expand...

My reasons for voting for H as well. Simply put, he offers much more input to the band than Dave or Janick. Even simpler: Paschen-fucking-dale.
 
I voted Dave but it was a very tough call.

Adrian- He is probably the greatest guitarist of all time when it comes to structuring a solo. It is very easy to split his solos into sections.just listen to the tropper, caught somewhere in time or number of the beast. The guy will perform a lick for 3/4 of a bar, have a small transition phase and move n the next. His solos are works of art. He is also the best songwriter of the 3 and has written many of the bands best songs including Paschendale, Starblind, Brighter than a thousadsuns, Wasted years and The Prisoner.

Janick- Janick has proved that he can write and play exellent solos. Listen to Sign of the cross Wasting love, The Legacy, Blood Brothers, Como estais Amigos and 2am for hs best work. The problem is he is nowhere near as perfect as H and Dave an can butcher solos live. His stage presence (sp?) is phenomenal and he really tries his best and gives each show his all. Janick is also an excellent songwriter. Dream of mirrors, Danceof death, Ghost of the navigator, The legacy,The talisman, como estais amingo. enough said.

Dave- He has been in maiden from the beginning. As far as im concened Dave murrays sound is iron maiden. He played a major role in creating the legendary, influencial sound that is iron maiden. Dave has proved that he can solo. Whether it be lightning fast (brave new world) or slow ( powerslave ) His solos are always smooth and melodic and he has developed a legato technique that could possibly be the best in world. His songwriting skills are good ( TLBLAH, stillife, breeg etc ) but his first powerslave solo for me is greatest guitar solo ever.
 
H is easily Maiden's best songwriter (music, not lyrics) after Steve, though I'd say he's far more consistent than Steve.  I like his style the most, and if I ranked my top X solos, H would probably have the majority no matter what number X was.  He's least active live, though, so a few minus points for that.

I also like Davey's solos very much, but as a songwriter he just isn't up there with H and Janick. 

Janick is, well, Janick.  What SMX said.  He's got the least memorable solos, and on the songs where all of the 3 amigoes play, his often sounds the least necessary.  He has some excellent solos, though, like Blood Brothers (which he also nailed live!) and BTATS.  I also like him going wild on stage, but unfortunately I've twice been on the left and rather close so those times I saw Janick quite little.  He also seems like the nicest guy.  In the reunion era he's written man excellent songs.  But, I still like H most, especially after him writing most of the best songs on TFF.
 
i must say Adrian.
i like dave and janicks songwirting but Adrian is the best out of the 3. And hes solos are so geniusly built. theyre not just some random shredding, they always go somewhere and fit the song perfectly...
 
Christ...this is like asking a Mother which of her children she's going to pull out of the river if she can only save one... Adrian got my vote, but if you ask me next week I might give you a different answer. Dave Murray's work on the first three albums in particular are among my all time favorite guitar pieces (TPOTO, Transylvania, HBTN). His solo on Paschendale has actually made me misty... it's a moving, sad, beautifully done piece of guitar work. Janick has taken my personal "solo of the album" award for the last two albums... The Alchemist on TFF, and The Legacy on AMOLAD. Being a frustrated guitarist (what I lack in talent, I make up for with volume), I take my guitar heroes pretty seriously, and for you Janick bashers out there, GIVE YOUR FUCKING HEAD A SHAKE! Yeah, he can be a little uncontrolled at times live, but this man can rip out some incredible licks. This being said, Adrian gets my nod (today) for a number of reasons. His playing skill is equalled by his writing skill, but man, I love this guy's tone. I've tried to mimick it as close as I can get on my own rig. It's his tone that really makes him stand out. The sounds that this man creates (especially with his Goldtop and his SG) are about as close to my perception of guitar perfection as can be reached. But I do go on...
 
taker64 said:
Christ...this is like asking a Mother which of her children she's going to pull out of the river if she can only save one... Adrian got my vote, but if you ask me next week I might give you a different answer. Dave Murray's work on the first three albums in particular are among my all time favorite guitar pieces (TPOTO, Transylvania, HBTN). His solo on Paschendale has actually made me misty... it's a moving, sad, beautifully done piece of guitar work. Janick has taken my personal "solo of the album" award for the last two albums... The Alchemist on TFF, and The Legacy on AMOLAD. Being a frustrated guitarist (what I lack in talent, I make up for with volume), I take my guitar heroes pretty seriously, and for you Janick bashers out there, GIVE YOUR FUCKING HEAD A SHAKE! Yeah, he can be a little uncontrolled at times live, but this man can rip out some incredible licks. This being said, Adrian gets my nod (today) for a number of reasons. His playing skill is equalled by his writing skill, but man, I love this guy's tone. I've tried to mimick it as close as I can get on my own rig. It's his tone that really makes him stand out. The sounds that this man creates (especially with his Goldtop and his SG) are about as close to my perception of guitar perfection as can be reached. But I do go on...
Click to expand...

I didn't vote for basically the same reasons. I probably woulda leaned towards Davey though... and not because during a concert I went to, I seemed to be the guy he picked out of the crowd to point to, and nodded and smile at, but because of the interesting fluidity in his music.
 
Last time I think I voted for Dave Murray, heralded for his sublime live performances.

This time I'll go for Adrian Smith. I respect his contribution of the last two albums immensely, and on the last record he impressed me very much with his solos. I am still very impressed by (and even a bit amazed about)  these solos. So many strong ones. Both in build-up and execution.

For me he is the creative spirit of Maiden.
 
I voted for Dave, he's always been my favourite since 1989, and I prefer his style of playing. Obviously H is the better songwriter and Janick is the flashiest guitarist but Daveys playing, for me anyway, is the most fluid
 
I am counting writing ability out of the equation, because it's a really unfair fight then.

I'm going with Dave. He is the guitarist who influenced me and my guitar playing the most. He always delivers a fantastic solo, no matter what, and it always feels both effortless and mind blowing at the same time.

H is very, VERY close to doing just that, but I like Dave just a little bit more, and so I pick him.

Oh I almost forget: he played one of the best solos every played ever: the first solo in Paschendale. It brings tears to my eyes every time without fail, and it makes the other solos (and the vocal part) tight after it seem so powerful and moving.
 
*sigh*

This is very hard to answer. I like all three, and I think all three are outstanding guitarists.

Janick is a master at songwriting, and I think that in the last ten years, he has really evolved to a masterfully skilled guitarist, too. I'm not overly fond of some of his 90's guitar work, but nowadays, I would say he is world-class. And I know a lot of people will disagree with me, but I think that he is also a supreme live guitarist. He is responsible for two of the three moments when I was actually 'blindsided' by a guitar solo during a gig - Powerslave in 2008, and something during the last tour (maybe Blood Brothers, but I'm not totally sure anymore). The only other moment when I had similar feelings was when H kicked off his Rime of the Ancient Mariner solo in 2008.

But I would propbably have named Dave my definite favourite before the release of The Final Frontier, simply because of his laconic and yet involving guitar work in Out of the Shadows - but now H has his Out of the Shadows moment during Coming Home. But he adds on that during Starblind, and his guitarwork there is my favourite moment on the new album in total. So currently, I would say H is my favourite of the three, but it's a very close call.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top